Does Hashem’s Name Appear In The Megillah?

One interesting feature of Megillas Esther is that Hashem’s name does not appear in the entire text. There are however a number of places that hint to Hashem’s name. The owner of the megillah pictured here had the sofer put three dots on top of every word that hints at Hashem’s name. The source for this is from the Chacham Tzvi. I will hopefully bring the exact place that this is brought down. Look three lines up from the bottom at the first four words and you will see the three dots.

Physical Stress and Breathing

Is there tension and stress in your physical body? Do you have tight shoulders and neck muscles? Do you struggle to catch your breath? While I love working as a sofer, my body can often be locked in the same position for long periods of time. These positions are not particularly healthy ones, so I need to have small exercise breaks inserted into my work day. Perhaps you are like me in that you tend to initate your breathing from your upper body. For years when I wasn’t able to catch my breath, I would become ever so slightly stressed out, as I would try to get a good breath of air. Now I understand a very important rule about stress. You can’t fight stress with stress. When I’m not getting enough air, instead of fighting it, I relax for two, three or four breaths. Almost always that gets me back on track. How do I do it? I really relax my breathing, allowing my body to breath at it’s own pace. I don’t force it. I just let it happen. I also try to completely relax my upper body, as the muscles that control breathing are not upper body muscles. It’s the tension in those upper body muscles that keep me from breathing. If you have shortness of  breath and want to work on your breathing I recommend The Breathing Book by Donna Farhi and published by St. Martin’s Griffin. If your problem is a result of tension and stress, this book will help you make great strides towards easy, struggle-free breathing.

Recycled Packaging

I try to save all the good packaging materials that come my way to reuse when I send you your orders. I guess if you see a familiar looking packing peanut, or one of those little plastic bags filled with air, it could just be yours.

Empty…

Just opened a pair of empty battim. How could it happen? Why? What was the sofer who sewed them together thinking? Could it have been an honest mistake? What does it mean for the person who was wearing them? What will happen as a result of all the bracha l’vatallas? Maybe when Eliyahu comes he will answer. tik”o

I will betroth you to Me.

After we wrap the tefillin strap around the middle finger and hand, we say, “I will betroth you to me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousnes, justice, kindness, and mercy. I will betroth you to Me with fidelity, and you shall know Hashem”. This verse from Hoshea 2:21-22  is talking about our relationship with Hashem. Wow, that’s  quite a powerful list of attributes describing how Hashem relates to his faithful people. Wearing tefillin is a clear demonstration of our faith. Day after day, we never miss our oppurtunity to wear the boxes that remind of how Hashem took us out of Egypt, and how we are obligated to serve Him with all of our abilities. Wearing tefillin is part of the process of becoming betrothed to Hashem, and in turn meriting Hashem’s everlasting promise of treating us with righteousness, justice, kindness, and fidelity. The verse concludes by  granting us the greatest gift of all: knowledge of G-d!

Exotic Hard Wood Mezuzah Cases

For many years I have considered creating my own mezuzah cases. I have always wanted to move away from the mass produced, made in China look. I noticed that while there are many mezuzah cases produced by excellent artists, very few of them allow the customer to enjoy the natural beauty of wood. After meeting Binyomin Weber, a master craftsman, we made this prototype.  My goal is to show off the natural grain of exotic hardwoods. Our starting point was a piece of high quality Laurel Burl. We combined this with Binyomin’s refined sense of style and made a few samples. The case pictured above takes advantage of the natural imperfections of the wood to actually display part of the klaf. Unfortunately it isn’t practical to show the klaf this way in every case we make, but when the shape of the wood allows, we will try to create unique pieces like this one. Our first line of cases will look similar to what you see above, but without the cutout. Although we are not fully ready to market these cases, if you are interested, contact us and we will see if we can help you. Retailers may also contact us. I can be reached at 845-290-2546.

Tekhelet (or tekheles or te cheles)

We have a qualified techeles stringer (my son Naftali) who does custom orders. He makes a nine different types of knots based on the shittos of the rishonim all the way  to contemporary poskim. I have taken pictures of the Anybody who is interest in having tekehelt tied can contact me at 845-290-2546 or send me an email (press the ‘contact me’ button at the top).

Article About Old Sefer Torah From The Times Of The Rambam

The following is a link to an article about an interesting old sefer torah:http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/history/the-800-year-old-torah This article will be of interest to readers who are interested studying the history of the letters. Of particular interest to me is the video of Rabbi David Rue. He explains that there are folds in between each column because this sefer was used by another sofer to copy from during the writing of a new sefer torah. Also, the lamed was written without a rosh on the vov, and the columns are not left justified like the way we write.

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Pesukei D’Zimrah

Every morning immediately after Baruch She’amar, we recite twenty eight verses from D’vrei HaYomim (16:-36). These verses tell us to, “…Praise Hashem for all his wonders and make them known among  the peoples”. We do this through speaking and singing about his actions.  We are also commanded to “seek out Hashem and his might,” and to “Seek His Presence“. We are told that happiness will come to one who seeks Hashem . This is because seeing the hand of Hashem such an  inspiring experience that  it automatically results in happiness. In fact the happiness of the tzadikim is one of the main topics of Sefer Tehilim. The verses now seem to switch topics and we are given a brief history of the Jewish people, emphasizing the thousand-generation pact between Hashem and the Jewish people, and how Hashem’s judgments extend throughout the entire earth. What is the connection between the commands to praise and seek Hashem, and the verses that discuss the history of our people, focusing on their eternal relationship with Hashem? The answer is that the continued existence of the Jewish people, after all that they have been through, is one of the most miraculous wonders of the world. The nature-defying Jewish people are the surest way to see Hashem, his might, and his presence. This amazing concept is interwoven into the very fabric of the Tanach, and the Siddur in such a subtle  way that it could easily be missed.

It is an amazing feeling when I gain new insight into the dovening, especially when I know it is true. I actually heard this concept from Reb Shlomo Lebovic who learned it from a lecture by Reb Avidor Miller, but it felt so new to me today that I am writing about it as if it was the first time I heard it.

Friends (and Brothers)

As I was leaving for shul on Friday night I saw that my four year old son Yaakov Yisroel had only a light jacket on. Thinking he would be cold, I asked my wife where his coat was, but she told me that he was dressed warm enough as he was. Sure enough, by the time we had arrived at shul, he had become cold (by the way, we see from this that sometimes fathers are competent). Since my fifth-grader, Mattisyahu Chaim was with me, I asked him if he would mind walking home and gettings Yaakov Yisroel’s jacket. As usual, Mattis was agreeable. After he left, I turned to Yaakov and said, See what a good brother you have?”  Yaakov looked up at me and said with absoulte sincerity, “I know, Mattis is my friend and I’m his friend…and it was always that way.”

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